In a major development for Indian football Hyderabad FC — the 2021-22 Indian Super League champions — will undergo a complete rebranding and relocate to the national capital ahead of the 2025-26 season. The club will now be known as Sporting Club Delhi and is expected to make its first appearance under the new identity in the Super Cup 2025.
The decision marks the end of Hyderabad FC’s five-year association with the city and signals the beginning of a new era for Delhi football, which has not had an ISL representation since Delhi Dynamos FC moved to Bhubaneswar and became Odisha FC in 2019.
According to reports, the club management informed the All India Football Federation of their decision to relocate, citing a long-term vision “to develop a professionally run football club that reflects the values and aspirations of a new generation of fans in Delhi and across India.”
In its communication to the AIFF, the franchise highlighted that it owns significant land in New Delhi, which it has “earmarked for and envisions as the centre of operations and the future home of our football team and football in Delhi.”
The relocation comes on the back of a difficult 2024–25 season for Hyderabad FC, which finished 12th in the 13-team ISL table with just four wins from 24 games. The club was managed by stand-by coach Shameel Chembakath for most of the season after Thanboi Singto’s departure in December.
Hyderabad FC had come into existence in 2019, filling the void left by FC Pune City, which folded due to financial constraints. Despite finishing bottom in their maiden season, the arrival of Spanish coach Manolo Marquez transformed the team, leading them to the ISL title in the 2021–22 season. However, financial turbulence resurfaced last year, leading to a change in ownership, with Jindal Football Pvt. Ltd taking over the reins.
Now, under the new ownership, the club aims to build a “sustainable and forward-looking football project” based in the capital. The move also gives Delhi a long-awaited return to top-tier Indian football — a city that once thrived as a footballing hub during the 1950s and 60s, when fans filled the Ambedkar Stadium to watch major tournaments.
Over the decades, however, the passion waned. Even Delhi Dynamos, despite featuring international stars like Alessandro Del Piero, Florent Malouda, and Roberto Carlos, struggled to attract consistent crowds before eventually relocating.
In recent years, Punjab FC played home games in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium due to infrastructural limitations in their home state, but the turnout remained modest.
As Sporting Club Delhi prepares for its new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the BC Jindal Group-backed project can reignite footballing enthusiasm in the capital and restore Delhi’s lost football legacy.
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